We live in a beautiful world
by fugug
Summary: "I run, I hide, but I never lie." It seems that Duo is done hiding. Life is a heavy handed mistress that makes you face your fears no matter how much you beg her to wait, and give you time to heal. This work is fourth in the "Afternoon" series. 5x2, Duo/Wufei, Slash, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Fluff, Angst


Title: We live in a beautiful world

Author: Fugug

Warnings: Fluff, humor, angst

Category: Shounen-ai, romance, hurt/comfort

Pairings: 2x5, 5x2 and others

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Gundam Wing

~We Live in a Beautiful World~

In the wide kitchen, Wufei sat at the table with a cup of tea and the morning paper. It was Duo's turn to open shop today, so he had the pleasure to savor a nice sunny morning in silence; a rare occurrence when one lived with the likes of Wufei's lover. A silence that was unfortunately short lived when the doorbell rang and Chanel, their, no rather _Duo's_ pet skunk emitted an indignant and loud whistling shriek.

Wufei jumped, splashing half of his tea on his shirt. He looked down and frowned at the shrieking animal that had managed once again to sneak up on him.

"Oh would you shut up skunk, it's just the god damned door," he glowered at his soiled shirt and went to open the door.

The bell rang again two times before he got to the door and Chanel was getting more excited each time. She was now wildly running around his legs threatening to make him trip. So with great reluctance he picked her up and squeezed her a little bit too tight and she kind of squawked. The animal hissed at him and he hissed right back.

"Alright, alright I'm here. Stop ringing," he yelled at the door and opened it.

Upon seeing who was on the other side Wufei's eyebrows shot up right into his hairline.

* * *

_**Duo**_ rolled up the back porch and opened the unlocked door.

"Wufei," he called, "I'm home early. I don't think you need to be there for the afternoon shift. There really aren't much customers, nothing I can't handle alone," he added while taking his gloves off.

He waited for an answering shout; he thought he had heard a couple of voices before he'd called out. He frowned when no response came and rolled towards the living room where he taught Wufei must be.

"Wufei?" he tried again.

"Yeah Duo, in the living room. We have visitors."

Suddenly Chanel emerged from the end of the hall in a mad dash for Duo's lap. He laughed and affectionately squeezed the fur ball as he buried his face in its coarse coat.

"Stressed out by the company, hm? Don't worry, you're too cute for you're own good," he stage whispered to the critter now balled up on his lap.

He rolled into the living room, took a glimpse at said visitors, froze, than did a wild hundred eighty and raced out. Shit! Talk about being stressed out with _the visit_.

"Duo! Duo come back here right now!"

He could hear Wufei rushing after him but he had the advantage of wheel power and the man couldn't tackle a handicap now could he? If he could just make it out the door, outside in the open he could maneuver freely and Wufei would never be able to catch him.

Duo heard the said man curse and than the sound of pounding footsteps stopped and he only had seconds to break before Wufei landed in front of him; the wheels burned Duo's palms red.

"ACK! Jesus fucking Christ, Wufei! You and your fucking martial arts, never do that again! Shit!"

Wufei stepped forward and picked up one hand, squeezed into a tight fist, in pain.

"Sorry," he soothingly rubbed the soar palm.

"Huh, nice acrobatics Wufei," a voice Duo knew very well exclaimed behind him.

Wufei felt his boyfriend stiffen. He lifted the hand he was still holding to his side.

"Come on Duo. We've talked about this before, there's no running away. I won't let you," he whispered.

Wufei felt his lover grip his shirt. Duo looked up into eyes so dark, one could not distinguish pupil from iris, searching for something. Soon though, the blue eyes looked away and surrendered.

"Fine," he reluctantly agreed.

He backed up a bit and turned around to face Trowa Barton, a sheepish smirk firmly in place.

"Sorry about that," he said with a chuckle, "You kinda startled me there."

"I imagine. It's been three years and a half," Trowa said leaning against the wall, "actually we were surprised to find you here ourselves."

"Oh"

"After three months with no signs of life we started getting worried," Trowa continued as he followed Wufei and Duo back into the living room. He took his seat next to Quatre, on one of the two armchairs, while he watched Duo place himself next to Wufei.

To say that to see Duo maneuvering a wheelchair, as if he'd been doing so all his life, was unsettling, was a definite understatement. Especially when the last memory you had of him was as he _walked_ out the door, duffel bag over one shoulder.

"Why haven't you called any of us?" Trowa asked again. He watched Duo fidget with the end of his braid while nervously petting the skunk still on his lap. The animal seemed to be supremely unfazed by the unfolding drama once it could cuddle to its favorite person. "Do you know how hard you were to find? Your phone numbers, your e-mails, everything we drudged up turned out to be a dead end. You literally vanished from the galaxy"

If seeing Duo in a wheelchair was disturbing, seeing a quiet and unhappy Duo for more than a minute was astonishing.

A heavy silence settled in while they waited for the man to answer. Wufei surreptitiously took his hand again. Duo latched onto him like a lifeline, palms sweating and nails digging into Wufei's skin. He furtively looked at Trowa's expectant face and Quatre's sad one before going back to staring at the snacks that were on the coffee table. It was a median strip separating Wufei and he from _them_. Duo didn't even dare look at Heero who was sitting on the other side of the couch next to Wufei.

He didn't want to talk, he didn't want to explain. He wasn't running away no, Wufei spoke of his handicap with no shyness. Was it only for the changes they had to make to the house to accommodate his wheelchair, or the therapy they followed at home and the meds he took, the hospital appointments etc. He wasn't in denial but it was a different matter entirely to explain this predicament to somebody who had no close contact with disabled individuals, who had no real clue what disabled even meant in all the sense of the word. Somebody you desperately wanted to understand you. That asked for him to dwell on the issue deeper than he was comfortable with, it asked for analysis, comparison. But it was even worse when you were faced with people who knew you _before_, who still kind of knew you. After all, the body might be different but the person was not. More over, the people who were around him today: Trowa, Quatre and Heero were his closest connections to a family. They had known him for the better part of his life and he understood that he now would have to compete with the old Duo, the one that still wore the mask, the one that could still walk. Duo didn't want to look back…he wasn't strong enough. He wasn't ready for this yet; he wasn't entirely ready to acknowledge what he'd lost and that he wasn't… the same.

Quatre felt the barrier Duo was erecting. It surprised him and hurt even more than _finding_ _about_ Duo. The silence was getting outright suffocating and Quatre shot a look at Wufei. He wasn't ready for the indignant glare shooting daggers at Trowa and he. Quatre suddenly realized what they were doing. They were pushing and he belatedly remembered that Duo wasn't someone to coerce. He'd joke around, prank outright annoy you until you realized, after he'd gone and you were relieved to be left in peace, that he'd never told you what you wanted to know. It was an idiosyncrasy that had pushed Oz interrogators to hysterics and a few to tears. Still, Duo had never used stubborn silence to withhold information. I run, I hide but I _never lie_ indeed.

"Duo…" he whispered. Quatre didn't know what else to say.

"Gotta pet skunk? How insane can you get Duo? How the hell did that happen?" Heero asked deadpan.

It was like splash of water, all of a sudden the thick bubble of silence popped, making everybody jump. Duo looked over and stared at Heero with incredulous eyes before he burst out laughing. Now who would have thought of Heero as an icebreaker! Wufei looked at the Japanese man, one eyebrow raised and was amazed to see a …self satisfied smile displayed on the handsome face? Well, well, well it seemed they weren't the only ones with surprises here. Wufei felt the grip on his hand relax and the prickly sensation of blood flow starting back.

With a grateful look to the one who used to be his confident and best friend, Duo started telling the story of Chanel with the omission of some details of course; like what they were doing exactly, before Wufei got sprayed!

Soon they were all chuckling, all of them except Duo who was downright crying with laughter. After all he had been there and wasn't afraid to mock Wufei.

At the end of his tale the atmosphere was distinctly lighter.

"How 'bout you guys, what's been happenin'?" Duo asked as he looked up at the fuzzball that had sprawled atop his head. She tended to do so at her most possessive. Chanel wasn't fully grown yet, but she was still to heavy for this stunt, and too big. Thus she would kind of sit up on Duo's shoulder, hook her fore paws in his hair and rest her head atop his head. The long tail would lazily curl around his face. The first few times she did that, Wufei would pale at the thought that Duo had his face so close to her butt.

"Nothing much really…" Quatre responded with forced enthusiasm.

"I mean other than work," Duo cut in quickly. Quatre always tended to drone on and on about work when he was uncomfortable about something and his reply just now had been a little bit hasty. Contrary to popular knowledge, the _Gundam __R__anting __C__lub _held three members. "We keep up to date with news. I mean, we can't do otherwise as anything that has to do with Winner Corp or Preventer usually makes front line."

Quatre blushed at Duo's perceptiveness.

"Milliardo and I have been dating for a year now," Heero stated.

"Milliardo? Who's this Milliardo guy? I thought you'd end up with Relena," asked Duo in surprise.

"Well you thought wrong, she's going out with Trowa. Milliardo is Zechs," Heero answered indifferently.

"What! When? How?" Wufei looked from Heero to Trowa and then back, "Impossible, you're joking. We'd hear about this on the news."

"Wufei, Heero doesn't joke. Relena and I managed to keep it under wrap, for now anyways. We're not ready to publicize it," Trowa said with a chuckle.

"But, but I thought you and…Quatre," Wufei apologetically looked at the African in question and saw him looking Duo's way in fright.

"Oh God! We broke him," Quatre whimpered.

Wufei turned towards a dazed and white faced Duo.

"Duo? Duo what's wrong?" Wufei urged with worry. Was it his blood pressure, was he in pain?

Duo stared at him in shock. His cobalt blues were two big saucers. He looked like that nasty _E.T._ alien wearing a weird, live _Davy Croquette_ cap. Wufei saw the _hat_ blink its little beady eyes and shivered. "Trowa and Relena," Duo hissed, "how the fuck…when? The hell!"

"Well we've seen stranger things," Wufei replied relieved that it was nothing serious.

"But, but...but I _never_ saw that coming," Duo whispered fiercely, "Where were the signs!"

Wufei sighed, "Don't worry Quatre it's just the shock of the news."

"There were no signs to look for Duo," Trowa continued with a smirk, "It's entirely _After War_ matter. You know that Quatre and I were together during and after the war. It was good for a while but soon we started drifting apart, I with my work with the Preventers and Quatre with the business."

"We soon found out that although we cared a great deal for each other, we loved but weren't _in love_, if that makes any sense," Quatre continued, "It was painful at the beginning but we got through it fine without too much harm." He smiled at Trowa. "I'd give my life for Trowa and he holds a big part of my heart; I'm sure it's the same for him," Trowa nodded "but we are so much better as friends."

Trowa' s gaze slid towards Duo, "I've gotten to know Relena during an assignment. Quatre's been seeing Dorothy on and off."

"I'd have to say that it's off right now," Quatre said with regret.

"Don't worry, it'll be _on_ anytime soon. How long has it been anyways, a week? You guys never stay apart for more than two," Trowa reassured.

Wufei watched his boyfriend from the corner of his eye. The wide-eyed look wasn't gone but his colors had come back. The vision of _that_ alien came back to mind and Wufei shivered. If that damn skunk could just get down from its perch.

Unfortunately for Wufei, Duo determinately shut his mouth for the rest of the day. Deep in thoughts he would spy on Trowa and the rest of their guests, from the shadows of the hall where he'd parked for most of the afternoon. Trowa didn't seem to mind but, Wufei winced each time he passed in front of that glare en route to the living room via the kitchen or vice versa. Later on, as the men mingled in the living room, Duo migrated to the back of the couch, rolling back and forth thinking hard; his face still scrunched up in a weird mix of frown and gobsmacked.

By then, the only one who was still cool about the whole situation was Heero who calmly watched TV while the other three ex-Gundam pilots talked. Finally, Wufei couldn't take the vision of a bodiless head wearing a skunk cap float back and forth anymore and desicively pushed Duo outside where he could pace to his heart's content in the dying sun of the warm summer evening.

_**That** _night Duo was lying in bed, his back against the bed headboard, still lost in thoughts.

"Oh get over it Duo," his boyfriend exclaimed in exasperation while he prepared himself for bed, "You look like an obfuscated owl with something stuck up its ass and _please_ get that god damned skunk off your head."

Duo blinked at his lover's uncharacteristically creative rant and took Chanel off his head to place her on the floor where she scurried of to her corner of the room; a mound consisting of one of Duo's old tee-shirt, pair of socks, jeans; Wufei suspected one of his shoes, dried flower petals and many other disparate things she found lying around in the house or rather anything that made her fancy.

"I actually got over it pretty fast but, I just didn't feel like talking to them. I kept up the act and you guys left me alone which is fine by me," Duo confessed. Wufei frowned but, before any protest was expressed, Duo continued on swiftly: "And I've also been wondering about Heero and Zechs," Duo said as Wufei scooted close to him and drew the thin cover over them. The night promised to be hot and humid. "You know, Heero and I were pretty close but there's one thing he was tight lips about and that was on the subject of romantic relationships. We used, well I used to talk about it," Duo continued with a chuckle, "you know with Trowa and Quatre being pretty open about theirs and all. I thought maybe Relena? Thought he always denied it. Than I thought the war was consuming him and I was afraid I'd lose him to it so romance kinda of got out of my mind; you know how single-minded Heero gets. But now I'm thinking maybe he kept mute because he had the hots for the enemy." Duo guffawed, "Who knew!"

Wufei smiled, "Well I trust you to speak when you're ready, just wipe that disturbing expression off your face. You'll give me nightmares."

"What expression?" Duo asked with an ill-disguised smirk. He wanted to hear Wufei's comical tirades once more.

"Never mind," Wufei said rolling his eyes.

Duo pouted as Wufei helped him lie down and waited for the Chinese to close the lights before cuddling close as soon as he'd settled. Wufei waited for Duo to bury his head under his chin before he trapped him in a tight hug.

They stayed like that for a while Duo gently playing with his _l__ittle __m__an_'s shirt and relaxing under the tender back rub.

"It didn't go too well, did it?" he finally whispered.

"It wasn't that bad."

Duo sighed.

"Really. It wasn't that bad. You have to understand them. They weren't expecting to find you here, let alone romantically involved with me. They actually came here to ask me to help them find you." Wufei grunted "Now, how they showed up after three god damned years of _radio __silence_ and expected me to leave at a moment's notice, is rather insulting. What do they think? That I've got no to put my life on hold? I don't care that we were war comrades, I won't go traipsing in the wilderness every time they sneeze! What kind of injustice is that? The nerve they… What? What!" Wufei asked distracted out of his rant by Duo's laughter, "What is it! What's so funny?"

"Wufei" snicker, "are you" giggle, "are you whining?" laugh, "oh the injustice!" HOWL!

"I am not! The hell, in three years they couldn't have sent one e-mail, picked-up the phone two seconds only just to check if I was even alive? And then they finally decide to contact me after you've been gone for three years! And by contact I mean just show up at the door out of the blue which personally was as pleasant as becoming aware of a sudden silent fart!" Wufei rolled his eyes and patiently waited for his boyfriend to get his breath back. Wasn't it surprising that a couple years ago he would have speared anybody who'd dare utter his name wrong and now, he didn't even blink when Duo had a row at his expense. Love was strange, or rather Duo was.

"Bet they got a shock when they found out about us?," Duo said when he was calm enough to speak.

"Serves them right," Wufei insisted petulantly. He knew he was being childish, he didn't care and he felt even better about it when Duo gave him an affectionate squeeze for it.

"I thought you just said that I had to be forgiving and open-minded? Still, you're so cute when you're miffed," Duo whispered between giggles and relaxed further.

"Duo?"

"Hmm?"

"Do give them a chance okay?"

"…I know…It's just so sudden, an I know, _I know_," he added hastily, "It's my own fault for letting them come to me and not me go to them on my own terms. I…I just don't think I'm ready yet…"

"I know, but just give it a chance, really. Maybe it's what you need to do, to...move on?" Wufei added tentatively.

"…Yeah, okay." Now, Duo understood why Wufei had insisted they put up with the boys for the rest of their stay. Duo quietly listened to the buzz coming from the living room where his friends, probably sprawled on the wide sofabed, were surely gossiping about him.

_**The** _next morning found Duo already in the yard tending to the gardens when the others were just starting to wake up. Wufei let them all have the bathroom before he pulled himself out of bed. Heero, the last out, was greeted to the pretty sight of Wufei emerging from his _cave_: half of his hair was packed up in one huge knot, the other half was plastered to his face; his clothes were rumpled and twisted and his eyes were all puffed up. Utterly lovely, first thing in the morning. Heero got out of the man's way, one eyebrow raised. Wufei shot him a livid glare and slammed the bathroom door in his face. Heero blinked, shrugged and went to look for breakfast.

There he found Quatre and Trowa preparing pancakes. He poured himself a glass of juice and walked towards the half open back door. He leaned against the doorjamb and looked at Duo watering the plants and talking to his pet skunk. Heero shook his head at that, he couldn't quite believe the tale but then again it was all Duo to acquire a pet under those circumstances. He pushed from his stance and approached the American.

"How did you get past without waking us, with those bulky wheels of yours?" A decent question since for one to get from the hall to the kitchen one had to go through the living room where, at the time, three trigger happy assassins had been sleeping.

Duo looked up at Heero and smirked, "I have my ways."

"I imagine," he shrugged.

"You don't seem to be overly shocked at finding me in...in a wheelchair?" Duo asked suspiciously.

"I was, I still am. I have to say that I was miffed that you hadn't called for me when it happened."

"I, I… I'm sorry…"

Heero shrugged again, "I see that you had your reasons, or rather that it was for the best. But I was worried sick during your absence and now I see that I definitely had reason to be. You know that it'll be a long time before I forgive you?"

Duo swallowed at the reproachful look his friend sent him and nodded as he looked away in shame. Now that he was confronted with his friends in person he was starting to see how selfish and uncaring he'd been. It was true that if he'd been kept from the knowledge that something as grave had happened to Heero or to any one of the others, he'd be royally pissed. Duo didn't really want to consider that it felt uncomfortably close to a lie.

"Wufei wasn't looking to good the last I saw him." Heero, again, cut him some slack.

Duo looked at Heero, now staring at the flowers he was still watering, and let a tentative smile appear before paying attention once more to his task.

"He got a nightmare last night," he chuckled, "I'm ashamed to say it's twice my fault. You see I got it in my head to introduce him to an old Technicolor movie of the 20th century, _E.T. The extraterrestrial_. It's about that botanist alien that's stranded on Earth and gets to befriend a little boy that helps him _call home_. I thought it would be interesting, you know with Wufei technically being an alien, being born on the colonies and all and being a botanist to booth. Lets' say he didn't like being compared to _E.T._ one bit." Duo was now outright laughing. "Didn't think he was that impressionable. He got two weeks worth of nightmares for that and yesterday apparently I reminded him of _E.T._ and he got that weird ass nightmare out of it, have to tell ya, almost pissed my pants when he told me about it. Than he was pissed at me for laughing and probably lost most of his night's rest fuming."

Heero snorted in his juice. He'd seen an image of the creature, on one of Duo's retro t-shirts, in the past.

"Eh!" Duo shrugged, a big grin lighting his face.

"That's the reason why I'll forgive you real fast for the stunt you pulled." Heero said calmly.

"Huh?"

"You've made some mistakes but you also made very good choices. You're…how should I say that? Free?"

"…Wonder how many people took my annoying teasing as serious criticism?" Duo mused lightly.

"A lot, unfortunately. They're always surprised at how perceptive I am. I mean, how do they fucking think I got through the second half of the initial conflicts and the Eve Wars, with Dr. J going AWOL? Observation people! Analytic skills! I'm a man of few words, not dense."

Heero ranting was a very bizarre experience especially when he did with that casual almost blank manner of his.

Duo soothingly patted his arm while he watered his vegetables, a new addition to the gardens this year.

"By the way I think you should spend some time with Quatre. As I understand it, you guys can't close shop too often, how about he hangs out at the store with you today? The shock seems to be hardest on him," Heero took a sip of his juice. "I need Wufei with me. Milliardo's supposed to come in two days from now. He doesn't know we've found you and I want to keep him in the dark so he doesn't cancel the short leave he took. I'd like to research temporary housing with Wufei…Zechs needs a _vacation_ and you need a connection out of wonderland, _Alice_."

Duo smiled. It looked like Heero and him were still best friends.

* * *

_**Quatre** _was watching Duo pump push after powerful push, to the wheels of his chair, on the way to the flower shop. He watched as the gloved hands caught the rubber in a tight grip and the muscles of his arms bunch before pushing the wheels forward. Quatre realized that while Duo was executing this taxing action he was babbling a miles a minute about all and nothing, not a bead of sweat on his forehead, not a sign of fatigue or discomfort showing. It seemed like a stroll in the park for him, actually that's _how_ Duo would stroll in the parc, Quatre realized. Duo did seem healthy enough, actually when you really looked, he was positively glowing but than from the waist down stuck out the boniest legs and Quatre couldn't stop the sour taste from filling his mouth. It was just that he couldn't help but see the Duo he had known, the jumping, energetic Duo that seemed to have never outgrown the childhood years were kids ran everywhere they went. The memories clashed horribly with the Duo in a wheelchair that could stay hours on end without uttering a word, and still happy? He couldn't help but see all that Duo had lost. The thought that the _happiness_ or the life Duo now had was a big fat scam, a lie, was constantly running through Quatre's head.

He remembered the shock he got last night when he went to the bathroom. Most of the house had been changed to accommodate Duo's wheelchair and gave him maximum autonomy of movement. The counters in the kitchen were lower than usual, and he'd found out that most of the cans and essential kitchen paraphernalia were in the drawers and bottom cupboards. The rooms were very spacious so that Duo could maneuver his chair without hitting things, but all those changes were rather discreet. You could almost forget about the fact that a disabled person was living there. However, the bathroom just shocked you right back to reality: the elevated seat on the toilette bowl with high handles, the hoisting handles in the rubber-carpeted bathtub that had side door and built in seat to avoid slipping, etc…He had just stood there for a minute, looking blankly at all this and he'd wanted to cry.

The average person couldn't tell but Duo was having a really hard time filling in the tense silence with mindless chatter. He hadn't resorted to this tactic since he'd started dating Wufei and it was like trying to walk in weathered old shoes you'd forgotten in your closet for years. It felt stiff; it hurt and the personality trait seemed sizes too small. Nevertheless, Duo knew how awkward Quatre felt and thought that maybe he needed old markers to help settle him a bit. Out of all five of them, his friend had always been closest to his emotions and had the most difficulty coping with abrupt change. Duo wasn't looking forward to the time of _Question and Answers_.

That time never came surprisingly enough. They passed the rest of the day in amiable company, but the tension was constantly there. Quatre was appeased by the flowers and atmosphere of the shop. Having something to do helped a lot, but he couldn't find the courage to broach the subject of Duo's disability with the aforementioned man; to ask the obvious questions that needed to be ousted. They ordered lunch from a nearby café and continued working well into the evening. Duo apologized for making his guest work so hard, but he tended to have a bigger clientele at the end of the week which consisted mostly of women. _Now why was that?_

_**Heero** _and Wufei had come back from visiting two potential apartments and Heero had booked a room in a nearby hotel for Zechs and him.

Wufei was now making supper and Trowa had his nose in a book up in the attic. There was indeed an attic. At the end of the hall there was a door that looked like it belonged to a broom closet, but opened to a stairway that lead to a spacious and cozy attic sheltering the couple's small eclectic library. Heero had asked Wufei how did Duo get access to it? It turned out that for now, Wufei had to carry him upstairs or bring the books down. They hadn't yet figured out how to make this part of the house wheelchair friendly. Heero a techno-genius engineer, found this challenge to be worthy of his time, thus had started researching possible solutions.

Right now he was strolling in the garden pondering the most promising modifications he'd found, while studying the house's architecture. Deep in schematics he didn't see Chanel in the darkening evening. The little bugger jumped out of a flowerbed starling him; Heero backed up, tripped on the hose and fell sideways in what seemed to be the vegetable garden, if the tomato stick that almost took out his eye said anything about it.

Wufei watched the shrieking critter scamper through the flap door and dash towards their room with a dead mouse in its mouth? It was probably going to stash it in that God forsaken mound of hers. Wufei scowled. The beast could steal all it wanted from the house, he could tolerate it, but anything from outside other than flowers, he didn't want to see dead or alive inside. He was going to have a chat with Duo. That made him remember that Duo was starting to get a few ripe eggplants and it would be a good side dish with the meal he was cooking. Wufei walked out and opened the back porch light to see Heero slowly getting up from his impromptu sprawl in … the garden. Duo's vegetable garden that was a whole summer worth of effort…destroyed, trampled, killed!

Wufei stared, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"You, the, _how_, garden, _you_ …" he sputtered indignation growing. "Chanel attack!" he suddenly hollered. Later, Wufei would be asking himself what in _the_ _hell_ had come over him, he a former Gundam pilot, to order a _skunk_ to attack like a dog. But at the moment he and Heero were too stunned to see the animal effectively answer the war cry to think about anything else. Chanel shot out of the flap door, faster than a fart, whistling and coughing like some kind of demented bird, locked right on target for Heero's family jewels. You'd think the beast had been waiting for the signal all along. Well, Heero wasn't going out without a fight, especially when his precious stones were threatened. Like in a slow motion, Wufei watched in bewilderment as the skunk literary flew for its target when suddenly Heero's fist collided with its face and its body slammed to the ground, immobile.

Heero snorted and looked up to see Wufei close to an apoplexy attack. Eyes buldging, face livid and mouth hanging open, Heero feared Wufei was having a heart attack for a second.

"Oh my God! You KILLED the skunk!" he screamed horrified.

Wufei ran to the fallen soldier and lifted the limp ball of fur. He stared at it and then looked at Heero with the look of a child who'd just learned Christmas was canceled.

"Duo is going to kill me," he whimpered.

"Why am I going to kill you," asked Duo as he rolled towards them from the street.

Wufei shrieked. Yes he did. If he were less than a man he probably would have shat his pants too. He spun around still holding Chanel under the armpits. Duo frowned at the fact that one, Wufei was holding Chanel and two, why was she so limp?

"What's wrong with Chanel," he asked worry suddenly knotting his stomach as he reached for her and Wufei _backed_ away!

"Wufei give me Chanel," he ordered with a scowl.

Wufei swallowed, hard, and reluctantly handed over the rodent with the look of a man going to his execution.

Upon taking the skunk Duo gasp in horror when its head flopped back lifelessly.

"Oh my God, you killed my baby!" he screamed white as sheet, "How could you _do_ this? Behind me fucking back, no less! I knew you didn't like her but, to, to _kill_ her…" Duo hastily turned the chair around and raced into the house, tears flooding his eyes.

Wufei blinked a few times than raced after his boyfriend, "Duo _please_, let me explain!"

Quatre who'd stayed a bit behind, approached Heero who had looked upon the whole thing nonplussed.

"Wufei killed the skunk?" Quatre asked incredulous.

"No, I punched it."

"You killed the skunk?" He asked flabbergasted.

Heero shook his head, "It's not dead, just unconscious."

Quatre blinked, "Why didn't you tell them?"

"They'll find out." Or was Heero afraid of Duo's wrath? Nan, of course not.

_**Wufei** _burst into the room to see Duo throwing clothes into two suitcases. Chanel was sprawled on her mound.

"What, what are you doing?" he whispered shocked.

"What does it look like I'm doing," Duo said calmly between hiccups, "I'm packing."

"You…these are my clothes you're packing."

Duo sent him a glare while he jammed one of Wufei's shirts at the bottom the suitcase.

"Duo come on. Let me explain. It's not like it looks like, I swear," Wufei begged.

"I don't want to hear it!" Duo sniffed indignantly as he watched Wufei kneel next to him chair.

If he had to grovel, Wufei would grovel, "Please, you aren't going to leave me because of this," he swallowed as Duo looked the other way, "I mean … I mean Chanel _is_ important but, but…" His world was crumbling and he had no words, no actions to stop its annihilation; to save his soul, "Where, w...where are you going to go?"

"What do you mean where I'm gonna go, I'll follow one of the guys home. They came for me after all." Duo said airily.

Wufei felt like crying. That's right, they'd come for Duo and even though the pill was little hard to swallow right now, they'd eventually get used to Duo's situation, especially when they found out just how much more lovely, beautiful, generous, loving he'd become…Wufei was going to cry. Duo in the end had many friends and he only had Duo. Really, what did he have to give compared to Heero's tried and tested friendship, Quatre's material and emotional comfort, Trowa's stability? Moreover those friendships linked Duo to Sally, Noin, Une… etc. Duo would have a large support network. Eventually, with his friends' help he would find purpose and work more challenging than uselessly selling flowers all day. Even disabled, Duo would be an invaluable asset to _the Preventers_, for example... Maybe that was the next step he needed to heal. No, if he would just stop being a coward, Wufei was sure of it. He'd been selfish. He'd wanted to keep Duo to himself, that's why he hadn't called any of the others. Never mind that he'd quarreled with Duo about the possibility, he should have acted sooner. Hell, with anybody else he _would_ have called. He wouldn't have used Duo's fear to justify hiding such a life-altering event from his closest friends, his _family_... for _three_ fucking years. But Duo had trusted him... What good was it now though, when this trust was broken so easily? Still, he couldn't, wouldn't keep Duo against his will.

Wufei silently stood, "Fine," he whispered fiercely.

Duo waited for the door to close behind his repenting boyfriend and snickered. He went to Chanel and started petting her affectionately. Deep in the house, he heard another door slam. It was probably the bathroom's; that's where Wufei went when he was pissed and needed time alone. His lover was probably cursing Chanel through the seven hells right now.

"Poor, baby we'll get papa to apologize for neglecting you," he whispered before there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah, come in," he called.

"Is everything all right? I crossed Wufei in the hall he didn't look so good." Hero shot a look at the room. "You're packing? You do know that the skunk isn't dead, right?"

Duo smiled, "Of course I do. I realized it after I calmed down a little, but Wufei doesn't know and I'll make him suffer for hurting her…heeey," he frowned, "Wait a minute… How come, how do you know that and why are you so dirty?"

Minutes later, Duo hastily rolled out of the master bedroom and went to knock on the bathroom's door.

"Wufei! Honey, open up!"

The bathroom door slowly opened and he looked up into Wufei's red face. Duo's eyebrows shot up right into the ionosphere. Wufei silently went back to sit on the toilet lid and Duo cautiously followed him inside closing the door behind them.

"Fei, you been crying..."

Wufei shrugged, a hiccup took him by surprise and he looked away blushing harder.

Duo felt his heart squeezed and swallowed hard to try and dislodge the lump burning his throat.

"Wufei, baby, did you really think that I was going to leave you?" he asked incredulous.

His boyfriend didn't say anything. He sniffed miserably and brought a hand to grasp his shirt over his heart.

Duo fought a whimper and moved closer to slap him upside the head, hard, "Idiot! How could you believe something so stupid?" he growled brokenly.

Wufei blinked at him, surprised by the vehemence behind the slap and got trapped in the cobalt blues full of reproach. He couldn't speak. He tentatively put his hand on Duo's forearm before the latter roughly pulled him into a fierce hug. His face buried in the crook of Duo's neck, Wufei broke down completely.

"Oh come on babe, stop crying now," Duo said with deep regret when he felt the wetness on his skin, "You're breakin' my heart here. I can't believe you thought I'd up and leave you," he continued in exasperation while soothingly rubbing Wufei's trembling back, "You know that I love you, always and forever. No matter what I'll always fight to keep you, I'll always fight for _us_. I wont leave, I just couldn't, you'd have to _pry_ me away Fei and then some." He was startled when all he got for reassuring his lover were harder, gasping sobs.

He pried away, well tried to but the man was just clinging too tightly. Now, Duo was freaking out. He anxiously peppered kisses on the black hair.

"Jesus, Wufei what's wrong? Come on spill."

The next morning found Duo in the backyard again looking at his destroyed work with infinite regret as he watered the adjacent flowerbeds. Heero silently walk up to him, a glass of juice in his hand, again.

"How's Wufei?"

They hadn't seen him at supper where Duo had excused his absence and Heero hadn't seen him this morning either.

Duo shrugged and adjusted the sprinkler of the hose to the highest level. Without looking at Heero he turned the hose on him.

"…" Heero stood stoically under the jet, his juice in hand and still contemplating the neighbor's lawn, as he was drenched in cold water.

"I deserve that."

"Yes you do."

_**Although**_ Duo hadn't said so, he knew that he also deserved a good hosing down. He was realizing just now, how selfish he'd been not only towards his friends but also, _mostly_, towards Wufei. That night in the bathroom had been an eye-opener.

He'd been so dependent of Wufei's support, so involved in his own pity party that he'd never understood just how insecure his _l__ittle __m__an_ was. Duo relied on and trusted Wufei's help, guidance, emotional and material support. The accident had traumatized him so much, his life flipping over from one second to another, that he'd clung to the only constant he had. More so, Wufei never asked for anything, loved freely and, Duo now realized, was an unrepentant enabler. His lover had to stop this dumb self-sacrifice act. Their relationship was horribly one-sided and Duo needed to rectify that fast. The first order had been to thoroughly reassure his lover of his love and worth and to talk about how _Wufei__'s_ life had changed with the accident; and shame had burned so hot, Duo thought he would self-combust when he realized they'd never had that conversation! The second order was that Duo was going to get a grip and pull his head out of his ass already! He had to acknowledge his past and face the present head on. It was a bitter pill to swallow when he realized that his hiding had also ostracized Wufei from his friends and family, no matter how independent Wufei assured he was. To find out that Wufei had no support network to help him cope except for their medical therapist at the hospital. Duo had learned that in a clumsy show of support, Wufei hadn't spoken to Sally, his best friend, in three years! She was going to _crucify_ Wufei _when_, not if, he called her.

The next day, Wufei came out of seclusion a little shameful of his breaking down. He was especially contrite of Duo's constant guilty looks aimed his way. Wufei was upset that Duo hurt, never mind the fact that it was for him, and that shamed him more. In a perfect world Duo was always happy and loved, and Wufei could cater to his needs before Duo even realized he had any; so sue him, he was an enabler, it made Wufei happy. He didn't care that, that particular idiosyncrasy hinted to an unbalanced psyche. All the Gundam pilots were crazy anyhow, it was par the course.

Still it had been one of the couple's few serious fights and both were cautiously licking each others' wounds. The mushy, introspective and cautious atmosphere wasn't really conducive to entertaining guests so that left the rest of the G-boys to their own devise.

Heero kept busy with the attic modification, already he had ordered a few parts to be delivered within the next two weeks. Trowa made himself scarce, often reading in the attic but also silently observing as was his way and Quatre seemed to prefer the gardens where he would sit and keep to himself for hours on end. Yet, the atmosphere was gradually clearing as the boys gradually got over the shock out, but certain subjects remained taboo so as to keep conversations casual and light. The time the couple took to solidify bases was not right to demand explanations, do soul-searching and redefine friendship and family ties.

* * *

_**Two** _days passed in this manner and finally Zechs' arrival was pending.

Wufei would drive Heero to the airport while Duo to the mall and grocery store with the Trowa and Quatre. They all knew, without Heero needing to remind them, that Zechs was high maintenance. The man didn't do it on purpose, at least Heero didn't think so, he argued that it was attributable to his royal blood and that really, really, _really_ shiny platinum mane.

Duo wasn't too enthusiastic about the mall under normal circumstances but with the Jazz Festival in full blast and the long weekend starting, he really didn't feel it. Wufei had admitted similar concerns. He didn't give a rat's ass about propriety and discretion when it came to Duo's comfort. The old Duo felt comfortable in crowds, a fish in the sea but the new Duo felt kind of skittish when there were too many people around him, he could get downright claustrophobic sometimes. Still, Duo insisted on being a good host and couldn't leave the grocery shopping to his guests. More so, he'd just be twirling his thumbs at home since they'd closed the flower shop for Zechs arrival and he couldn't start the diner without the groceries. Duo told himself that he'd just deal.

The ride to the mall was rather subdued. Duo could regrettably admit that he wasn't making much leeway with Quatre. The young man seemed to recoil every time he was blatantly reminded of Duo's handicap, for example how hoisted himself from his chair into the car. Trowa kept silent but it was a heavy instead of his usual non-committal ones. Duo suspected that he was thinking about the same things Quatre was.

They arrived at the mall. Trowa parked the car and climbed out to take the chair out of the luggage compartment. He rolled the chair close to Duo's side and locked the breaks before Duo hoisted himself in. Quatre climbed out of the passenger side and watched as Duo strapped himself before backing up and slamming the car door shut.

"The grocery store is inside the mall. We gotta go through the department store," Duo said as he apprehensively watched the festival crowd. "Who's got the list?" he asked as he nodded his thanks to Quatre for holding the door open for him.

Trowa held up the list and handed it to him when Duo motioned for it. Duo took a quick glimpse and whistled in surprise before he handed it back.

"Are you sure we need all this? Clams, lychee, blue cheese?" he asked bewildered.

"Heero is preparing for a groveling session. You know that he hasn't told Zechs about you so he's going to prepare some of his favorite dishes to appease him." Trowa said matter of fact.

Duo didn't say anything but Zechs sure had expensive tastes.

They made their way through the department store full of shoppers and the closer they got to the main mall the more uncomfortable Duo got. It was a mob. The festival coincided with a long weekend and families were taking advantage of the extra day to go all out and enjoy the festivities before the dreary work week came upon them. Children were running, screaming, nagging their parents. A very amusing scene if Duo didn't have to stop every few minutes because a kid suddenly dashed in front of his wheels. Moreover, the fact that he was several heads lower meant that people didn't always see him and a few came close to tripping over him. There were legs everywhere and a trip that should have taken five or ten minutes at most, was becoming far longer. At least for Duo, it seemed like hours. His chest felt heavy, the noise, the limited space to maneuver stranded him and slowly he felt panic overtake him.

He looked at Quatre and Trowa who were walking in front of him with such _ease_ and suddenly a fierce desire to walk assailed him. He _wanted_ to walk, he wanted to stand _up_ and _walk_. He wanted to get out of this sea of legs. These people, laughing, talking quarreling around him, didn't they know how _lucky_ they were to be able to run, walk, swim, dance…just a mindless swinging motion of the arms and hips, support from the heel to the front toes. He wanted to _stand _and he could feel it! _Oh God_ he could _feel_ his legs, but why couldn't they move? Pain, the ghost of pain, shot from his shins through his thighs, and took residence in his lower back where very real fucking pain shot up his spine. Oh shit! He couldn't do this, he couldn't do this! He had to get out, he needed Wufei! Now, right now! Oh God! _He wanted to walk_! Please, just let him stand! _Please_!

"Wufei…help me!"

They didn't realize right away that Duo had stopped following them. They'd seen the difficulty he was having maneuvering his wheelchair in the crowd so they'd gone forward to carve a passageway.

Suddenly, they heard a low keen a little ways behind them. Quatre was the first to look behind and gasped, paralyzed for a second or two, before he raced back to Duo. Duo was curled up on himself, slowly rocking back and forth. His face was deathly pale and clammy. Eyes tightly shut, teeth chattering, he was whispering his boyfriend's name like a mantra.

Quatre quickly knelt beside him and saw that he was close to hyperventilating.

"Duo, Duo what's wrong?" He asked, voice shaking.

"Wufei, Wufei, please help me. It's _hurts_. _Please_ I want Wufei…" Duo whispered oblivious.

"Hurt? What's hurting you? Your legs?" Duo was scaring him, he didn't know what to do and he felt totally useless. He felt like he'd lost Duo completely to this stranger unraveling at the seams. He tentatively put a hand on the American's shoulder only to hastily pull it away when Duo whimpered lurched backwards.

People were starting to gather around them, some watching with curiosity, others with worry and some more with reproach as the crisis unfolded in the middle of the department store.

Trowa, who'd seen Quatre's attempt fail miserably, flipped his cell open and dialed Wufei's number.

_**Heero**_ was already waiting outside. There weren't any outwardly clues, but Wufei swore that he could feel a restless energy coming from the Japanese. He chuckled and put his jacket on, checking that he hadn't forgotten anything; he had his keys, his wallet, good. He was about to walk out when the phone started ringing. He walked to the kitchen and blinked when the phone continued ringing with the receiver unhooked. His cell, that's what he was going to forget. He jogged to the living room and picked it up from the coffee table.

"Chang."

His face darkened as he heard Trowa relate the crisis taking place.

"Where are you exactly…Fine, I'll be there in five. Take him out to an open space, _now_. If I take too much time to get there and he hasn't calmed down call an ambulance."

He dropped the phone in his jacket pocket and raced out of the house.

"_**We**_ have to get him out in the parking lot," Trowa said as he closed his cell.

He looked down at his distressed friends with worry. Duo wasn't going to be able to move under his own power; he would have to be carried out. He looked at Quatre and was even more saddened to see his face clenched into a horrified expression, tears running down his cheeks.

It was a shame, such a shame and unfair that Duo should go through this. They had survived intact the most outrageous suicide missions. A bunch of 15 years old battling countless seasoned warriors, saving the world and the colonies from themselves, for what? All this _cheating death_ business, all this power and luck to finally understand that yes, they were only human, yes they were defenseless. Soon, you understood that not only you were vulnerable but you made others, that cared about you, vulnerable as well. It changed you, asked for compromises and all of a sudden your life wasn't your own anymore. What a load of crap!

Trowa got down to unhook Duo's belt. It was a little hard since Duo was curdled up tight and became downright hazardous when he began to trash and scream.

"No, no don't touch me! I want Wufei, don't touch me!" Duo howled.

He punched, trying to stop the stranger from touching him so close to his legs. They wouldn't work. He couldn't escape. He _needed_ Wufei. Why wasn't he _here_?

The crowd that had gathered gasped and backed away, frightened. Two security guards tentatively moved forward to give some assistance and Trowa felt sorry when he saw Quatre openly cry now.

He stoically withstood the pummeling and picked Duo up, out of the chair, with some effort. His legs might not work but the man was long and _heavy_. Trowa started for the exit, but it was really hard with Duo screaming in his ears and pushing away. Quatre was following with the folded chair and the security guards were utterly useless with their questions. Still, they finally got a clue and started cordoning off the crowd. Trowa saw the looks of pity, fear and fascination marring their faces and he glowered until they lowered their eyes in shame or fear, he didn't give a fuck. This wasn't a fucking show!

After a couple of steps, he had to stop as Duo was clearly hyperventilating though he hadn't stopped trashing. Trowa was afraid to drop him as he he felt his grip weaken.

"Get out of my fucking way, you morons!"

He'd never thought the day would come when he'd find Wufei's voice one of the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. Soon Wufei came crashed of the crowd roughly elbowing the people standing in his way. Heero was right behind him. Wufei was beside Trowa in an instant. Totally focused on Duo, Wufei didn't even spare a glimpse for anyone else.

Wufei took hold of Duo's face and calmly but firmly talked to him, "Duo, _Duo_ listen to me. Duo I'm here. Everything's okay, _calm down_."

He repeated this over and over, peppered with endearments here and there. He caressed his cheeks, his hair, his neck and finally Duo started to calm down and actually listen.

"Duo, I'm here, it's me Wufei. You're okay, we're okay, you're safe," He whispered in his ear. He motioned for Trowa to give him Duo and when he securely held his boyfriend in his arms, Wufei made for the exit, still whispering reassurances in his ear.

Duo latched onto Wufei, the hold on his neck suffocating, but Wufei didn't complain, instead he encouraged Duo to clam his breathing, to relax. He quickly walked to the car where Heerro had already opened the back door and he sat inside with the door wide opened.

"Duo," he gently caressed the clammy face, "Duo say something, open your eyes? It's okay you're safe, but I want to be sure. _Please_?"

Duo just buried his face in Wufei's neck.

"Duo, come on, you're worrying our friends here. We just want to know that you're all right. Please, for me, let me see those beautiful blues?"

Slowly, Duo opened frightened eyes. They nervously dashed around before resting on Wufei's face. Wufei watched as the dilated pupils contracted some.

"Wufei?" came the shaky whisper.

"Yeah, it's me, you're safe now." He said soothingly.

Duo buried his face in the crook of Wufei's neck again, shaking. "Fei" came the relieved sob.

"It's okay, everything is all right. We're going home," Wufei said as he felt his heart contract with infinite misery when his lover's tears started to wet his shirt.

This afternoon Wufei and Duo got the house to themselves. Heero had dragged the other two with him to the airport to pick up a, probably, very annoyed Zechs. They were half an hour late when they'd left the couple.

Duo was lying in bed with Chanel squeezed tight in his arms. The critter seemed to understand the distress of her best friend and tolerated the abuse. Wufei came in with a cup of hot chocolate. It was hot out but Duo wouldn't stop shivering.

"How are you feeling?"

Duo shrugged.

"How about that cup of hot chocolate?"

Duo shook his head.

"You're shocky. You need to warm up."

Duo only curled up tighter on himself and Chanel emitted a little squeak of indignation. Duo let go a bit.

Wufei sighed and put the cup on the nightstand than calmly got in bed. Duo let go of the skunk that scrambled behind his back and grabbed Wufei instead.

"You want to tell me what happened?" he asked softly as he stroked Duo's back.

"…I freaked out."

"How so?"

"My legs…"

Wufei gently slid his hand down but Duo stopped him before he could touch a thigh.

"No" he said as he put the thick fingered hand on his waist instead, "don't touch them." He looked up with misery in his eyes. "I felt them, you know that ghost pain, my therapist talked about at the hospital? I felt it for the first time, at the mall. I wanted to walk. I...I could _feel_ them Fei." He quickly buried his face in the man's chest.

Wufei didn't know what to say. What could be said besides what Duo already knew: that it was going to be all right, that it was a common side effect... Asinine, they were all fucking asinine excuses and a waste of breath. So Wufei said nothing and hugged Duo close with the wish that he could protect him from all the pain, from himself even.

* * *

"Wufei, I think it would be best that I go."

Wufei looked up from the scrambled eggs he was cooking, into Quatre's pale blue eyes.

"What?"

"I said…"

"Why?"

He watched as Quatre fidgeted.

"I... I need to Wufei…" his voice trailed to nothing.

"…Fine. When?"

"N, now. I booked my plane yesterday."

"I'll be leaving too." Trowa added as he came into the kitchen.

Wufei looked at them stunned. Were they fucking running away? He couldn't believe it! He closed the stovetop and put the pan on another circle before walking past them into the living room, both his eyebrows rose sky-high. They weren't bluffing. Their bags were packed and ready next to the front door. He suddenly felt raging anger bubbling up, but just as suddenly it died out. He was just too tired for this, between the tension of the past few days, his fight with Duo and now, Duo's panic attack, he was exhausted. Had it only been six days? And who could blame them for freaking out afterall? If he put himself in their shoes he would have been entirely less pleasant and blahblahblah…sigh.

He turned around, "I'll go wake Duo up."

"No! No, that's fine." hastily exclaimed Quatre before Wufei could take a step forward. "You... you needn't bother him," Quatre whispered ashamed.

"Trowa," Wufei whispered.

"I'll call in a couple of days."

Wufei winced as Trowa's cracked lip started bleeding again. Duo hadn't pulled his punches and Trowa was displaying a very nice shiner among other bruises. Wufei accepted defeat and walked them to their rental. He stayed outside long after they had disappeared at the bend.

"What are you looking at?"

He jumped and turned towards Heero who was looking at him from the doorjamb. His hair and clothes were rumpled and were there …hickeys on his neck?

Heero had decided to come back with Zechs instead of taking the hotel room. There hadn't been enough space for four on the sofa bed and anyways, it was obvious that the couple would want some privacy so they had made a make shift bed in the attic. He must have just come down.

"They're gone." Wufei said as he walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Trowa will come around soon enough. He observed, next he'll analyze and come to the right conclusion, as is his way. Quatre, on the other hand, will have a harder time to cope. He couldn't find the stability he needed in Duo's usual good humor. He's been having a hard time with Dorothy. But he'll eventually get over it and come around. We all have to grow up some day."

Wufei stared as Heero poured himself a glass of juice.

"How…"

"I'm a man of few words, not dense. Once Duo gets out of his funk I'll kill the _baka_ for starting those stupid rumors. The _Perfect Soldier_ my ass!" he scoffed as he made his way to the attic.

* * *

End

Skunk facts: . . When you skim through the few enlightening sources on the net, you soon realize (if you hadn't know before) that this story is a work of fiction and that there is _no way_ Duo's and Chanel's relationship could be. Ah, well...


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